Life among the birds

To live a life untamed and unafraid it the gift I’ve been given, and so my journey begins. — Catwoman

Even though my journey to Costa Rica started three weeks ago, I still feel this quote fits perfectly. Start each day fresh and ready to learn from your adventures. Always keep learning and exploring. 

The Selvatura Tour was a fantastic way to top off my visit in Monteverde. I started the morning with a fabulous hike across eight different hanging bridges.

These bridges were not the rickety bridges that require a death grip and a prayer to cross. Rather, they were metal suspension bridges of various lengths. The longest bridge was 515 feet across. The highest was 34 meters above the ground. Three people could walk side-by-side (a width of 1.5 m). Walking across the bridges was actually fun. It was as if I were walking across a trampoline with a little sway and a bounce. Several people walking near each other at the same time would make it a bit more challenging to walk a straight line. 

Besides the awesome views of the cloud forest, the highlight was seeing a male quetzal. He is not always easy to see, and I had not seen one until today. I also was able to watch him fly gracefully from tree to tree. The photo was taken through the guide’s binoculars. His brilliant coloring is hard to beat. 

Between the bridges we hiked up a lot of mountain paths. The paths were nicely laid out with pavers so visitors wouldn’t be walking in muddy trenches. We stopped to see caterpillars, centipedes, millipedes, and a beautiful butterfly with see-through wings. 

In the private reserve was a hummingbird garden with 14 different species of hummingbirds. There were five sets of hummingbird feeders, a veritable juice bar.

The sound of the hummers was incredible. The beating of their wings sounded like a swarm of bees. They performed high-speed aerial feats that defy the odds.

I walked right up to a feeder and put my hands below it. The hummingbirds zoomed in and out right past my face which was a bit unnerving at first.

They move about with incredible grace and speed. Several hummers took turns standing on my hands as they drank the nectar. 

Hummingbirds come in only three colors — black, brown, and white. The brilliant colors you see are actually reflections from the light. I was able to get an excellent video clip of a large, purple hummingbird called the Purpled-Throated Mountain-gem. Watch how fast his wings move. The video clip below was taken on the slow-motion setting.

The weather was overcast, but not rainy, so I decided to try zip lining again. Whoo-whee! Zip lining is such a fun sport. This time we had 14 different zip lines and one Tarzan Swing. On three of the longer lines, I rode with the guide behind me.

We needed the extra weight to get across the longer lines. I actually liked this better as both of my hands were right in front of me and I was able to get better views of the landscape. Plus, we flew so  much faster! LOVE  IT!!! The Tarzan Swing had a little bit longer of a free fall — maybe one second in total. The free fall still kind of freaks me out. The swinging afterward is awesome though. Wish we could kick our legs and swing longer. 

Next I walked to a butterfly garden that houses 30 species of Costa Rican butterflies. Being late in the afternoon, many of the butterflies had already settled for the day. However, the Blue Morphos were around and were elegant and beautiful. The colors of their wings are also from the reflection of the light. 

Since this garden is for viewing purposes, the cocoons are brought in from other areas. The cocoons are pinned inside a glass case where the temperature is more consistent. They hatch inside here and are let out of the case when a worker sees they are ready to stretch their wings and fly. The guides don’t really want the caterpillars in the garden as they will eat up all the leaves which wouldn’t be very pretty for visitors. Not sure how, but if I understood correctly, the majority of the butterflies here are female and they don’t reproduce in this garden. Depending upon the species and conditions, the butterflies live about only two months in the garden. 

Finally, I went into an art building where local artists work and sell their work.

I was lucky enough to meet Lin Luna, an artist I whose work I had been admiring.

She does a lot of painting on feathers that have been collected out in nature.

I bought a feather with a quetzal painted on it.

I also bought three reprints of some of her husband’s (Ferlander Aguedas) work. I was fascinated by his style.

I would like to recreate one of his paintings in a quilt using the style and methods of Laura Heine.